Hemodialysis is a process which employs a machine that includes a dialyzer to aid patients whose renal function has deteriorated to the point where their body cannot adequately rid itself of toxins. The dialyzer may include a semi-permeable membrane, the membrane serving to divide the dialyzer into two chambers. Blood is pumped through one chamber and a dialysis solution through the second. As the blood flows by the dialysis fluid, impurities, such as urea and creatinine, diffuse through the semi-permeable membrane into the dialysis solution. The electrolyte concentration of the dialysis fluid may be set so as to maintain electrolytic balance within the patient. Other purification techniques and processes may additionally be used. Hemodialysis may be generally referred to herein as “dialysis,” although it is noted that other types of dialysis exist, such a peritoneal dialysis, and it is noted that the system described herein may be used in connection with any appropriate dialysis system or similar treatment system.
Since dialysis involves removing blood from and returning blood to a patient, performing a dialysis procedure carries a degree of risk. Dialysis treatment requires monitoring of several patient vital signs and dialysis parameters during the dialysis process in order to optimize the overall efficacy of the dialysis procedure, to assess the condition of a fistula (the access to the patient's blood) and to determine the actual purification achieved. Some examples of parameters monitored and analyzed by a dialysis machine or equipment include the blood access flow rate or the rate at which blood flows out of the patient to the dialyzer, a critical parameter; and the ratio Kt/V to measure dialysis efficiency, where K is the clearance or dialysance (both terms representing the purification efficiency of the dialyzer), t is treatment time and V is the patient's total water value.
A processing device coupled to the dialysis machine may be used to manage and oversee the functions of the dialysis process and to, for example, monitor, analyze and interpret patient vital signs and dialysis parameters during a dialysis procedure. The processing device may include a display that displays information concerning the dialysis procedure and include an interface that enables configuration and control of the dialysis machine. A health care practitioner such as a nurse or a patient care technician may oversee the dialysis treatment sessions. Data provided by the dialysis machine and the processing device may aid the health care practitioner in performing his or her duties.
For various descriptions of dialysis systems and components, reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 8,110,104 B2 to Crnkovich et al., entitled “Dialysis Systems and Related Components,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,577 B2 to Crnkovich et al., entitled “Method and System for Controlling a Medical Device,” which are incorporated herein by reference. For a description of a sensor system that may be used in connection with monitoring and issuing alerts during a dialysis procedure, reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 7,973,667 B2 to Crnkovich et al., entitled “Wetness Sensor,” which is incorporated herein by reference. For various descriptions of interfaces for dialysis systems, reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,503 B2 to Levin et al., entitled “User Interface Processing Device” and U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2007/0112603 A1 to Kauthen et al., entitled “Digital Data Entry Methods and Devices,” which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a clinic environment, there may be one health care practitioner for multiple patients, so it is often the case that while the health care practitioner is helping one patient, an alarm may go off for another patient that requires the health care practitioner to investigate and/or attend. In such cases, the health care practitioner may often need to leave a current duty to go to the source of the alarm. Further, where one or more patients are undergoing a dialysis treatment, the health care practitioner may need to adjust the dialysis machine in response to an alarm and/or alert and, in so doing, may often need to re-glove from any prior patient interaction.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to facilitate improvements in the efficient and effective monitoring and control of a dialysis treatment by a health care practitioner overseeing the dialysis treatment, in particular, to enable remote monitoring and control by the health care practitioner of the dialysis treatment and/or dialysis machine and without requiring the health care practitioner to physically contact or even, in some cases, be physically present at the dialysis machine.